The Beehive: the official blog of the Massachusetts Historical Society

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
**Please note that the Society is closed on Monday, 1 September, in observance of Labor Day.** September is upon us and it makes its appearance quietly as we begin the month with a holiday closure. The only main item of note this week on the calendar is a Brown Bag lunch [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 31 August, 2014, 12:00 PM

Library Hours Changing

Series: Around MHS
By Elaine Heavey, Reader Services
I write with sadness that as of 1 September 2014 the MHS library is reducing its hours, eliminating the extended hours on Tuesday evenings.  The new library hours will be: Monday through Friday – 9:00 AM to 4:45 PM
Saturday – 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Unfortunately [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 29 August, 2014, 8:00 AM

Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch Diary, Post 35

Series: Civil War  , From Our Collections
By Elaine Heavey, Reader Services
The following excerpt is from the diary of Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch. Tuesday, Aug. 7th, 1864 Thursday was a day of fasting for our national afflictions; - a day of thanksgiving too to the community for a blessed rain the day before after an unexampled [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 27 August, 2014, 12:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
There are no events scheduled for this, the last week of August, but you can still come in any time, 10:00AM-4:00PM, to see our current exhibition. Please be sure to keep an eye on our online events calendar to start planning your visits for September!  **The Society [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 24 August, 2014, 12:00 PM

Marion Learns About the Family: Sexuality Education in the 1930s (Part One)

Series: From Our Collections
By Anna J. Clutterbuck-Cook, Reader Services
Wearing my historian hat, I am interested in the ways in which twentieth-century Americans made sense of shifting sexual and gender practices. The mainstream media often figures conflict over sexual morality as fallout from the post-Sixties “culture wars,” feminist [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 20 August, 2014, 1:00 AM

The Mysteries of the Elisha W. Smith, Jr. Logbook, 1853-1857: Part I

Series: From Our Collections
By Andrea Cronin, Reader Services
Several questions burn brightly in my mind when I look through the Elisha W. Smith, Jr. logbook,1853-1857. If curiosity is a wildfire, this particular logbook sets me aflame in that it contains not one but two ship logs and a scrapbook. Elisha W. Smith, Jr., son of Elisha [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Monday, 18 August, 2014, 1:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
And here we are again for the weekly round-up of events to come. Keeping with the pattern established in previous weeks, we have two Brown Bag lunch talks on offer this week, as well as a free tour.  First up, on Monday, 18 August, drop by the Society at noon for "Operating [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 17 August, 2014, 12:00 PM

Indiana Limestone? At the MHS?

By Dan Hinchen
Some mornings, before researchers (and much of the staff) arrive at the MHS, I enjoy sitting out front with a cup of coffee and a book. It’s a good way to keep up on whatever I am reading and to cool down after my morning bicycle commute. A few weeks ago, as I approached [...] read more

comments: 3 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 13 August, 2014, 8:03 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
There is rain on the horizon as we start this week at the MHS. Why not duck into the Society to get out of the rain and take part in some of our public programs? On Wednesday of this week, 13 August, we have a Brown Bag lunch talk beginning at noon. This time around, Serena [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Monday, 11 August, 2014, 12:00 AM

The MHS as Time Machine

Series: From Our Collections
By Susan Martin, Collection Services
In my work as a manuscript processor here at the MHS, I often come across the diaries or letters of a person I wish I could meet face to face. It’s rarely the well-known movers and shakers of history, just someone with a unique and interesting voice. I’ve introduced [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 6 August, 2014, 1:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
Looking for some midday academic fulfilment this week? Then look no further. We have a couple of free lunchtime talks on the schedule this week at the Society, as well as a free tour and a free exhibition. Open to the public Monday - Saturday, 10:00AM-4:00PM, "Letters and [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 3 August, 2014, 12:00 PM

From the Magna Carta to Boston School Desegregation: An Educational Summer

Series: Education Programs
By Kathleen Barker, Education Department
Summer is in full swing at the Society, and that means I’m surrounded by teachers and students (of all ages) who love history as much as I do. Our season began with a workshop for a group of educators visiting from Oxnard, California. After viewing artifacts from the [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 1 August, 2014, 1:00 AM